This invention relates to apparatus and method for measuring ice thickness and more particularly to a measurement of ice thickness using sonar located in the water under the ice layer.
There exists a need to know the thickness of the ice cap in many applications where the thickness of the ice determines the limits at which certain equipment will function. One of these applications involves submarine operations where a submarine is in water covered by an ice cap. In order to prevent damage to the submarine when surfacing is desired, it is necessary that the thickness of the ice cap be known before surfacing is attempted. If the ice cap is thicker than a prescribed thickness, the submarine will be unable to break the ice cap and the impact may cause damage to the submarine or its contents because of the severity of the impact with ice which is too thick to crack.
Therefore, it is necessary that an accurate determination of the thickness of the ice cap be made prior to attempting to break through the ice cap.